Inspirational Words

Jamie Schultz Designs

I know, I know...I should probably just close this puppy down with my post history in the last 6 months. It's just that in the past few months my life went from busy to sheer chaos as I worked to get my new photography studio up and running.

If anyone happens to stop over here I thought I'd better post a few pictures to prove that I've been hard at work. Hopefully this means that I will once again be able to enjoy some down time blogging and chatting about random nonsense to my cyber friends.

Well...back again. This time I've been tagged. This is a fun little game photographer's are playing and I can't help but join the fun. I'm supposed to share 8 things about myself that most people don't know. Who knew creating such a list would be so hard. It seems I share too much information on this little blog of mine. Ha! So...here it goes:

1) Border's used to sell the absolute BEST Chai Tea...my all time favorite. When I heard they were switching over to Seattle's Best I went and bought out the entire store of the Vanilla Chai Tea. And when I say "bought out"...I mean the sales associate was standing on ladder reaching into the highest cupboard in the store to get the last few cans of Chai Tea. It took me and one other sales person to get the bags out to the car. That's what I call an obsession.

2) For my 10th birthday one of my friends gave me a Michael Jackson doll with a red glitter jacket and a glove. I thought I was so cool.

3) Around that same time my friends and I stayed up all night long watching the Thriller video over and over and over again memorizing the dance.

4) One of the first cassette tapes I ever purchased by myself was Poison: Look What the Cat Dragged In. Such a rebel...I know! HA!

Wow, what a summer it's been. My neglected blog is a reflection of just how busy I have been in the past few months. On top of the normal summer activities...soccer practice, trips to the cabin, traveling to a family reunion, etc...I actually did something a little crazy. Last month I bought a studio. I know!!! Can you believe it???

This is something I've been thinking about for a few months, but had no real plans to move forward with anything for a few years. I was out antiquing with a friend one day when I stumbled across a space I just couldn't refuse. 48-hours later I was a studio owner and ever since the ink dried on the paperwork I have been working like a mad woman to get the space ready for the Grand Opening in October. Let me just tell you....it's been a whirlwind.

However, I do sense that things are slowing down...FINALLY. All the furniture is ordered, paint colors are picked out, party is being planned. Life is good!

As we head into the Labor Day weekend, I can't help but feel a little excited about Fall and all the changes happening around here!!!

Here's a sneak peek at my new space!!!

**Oh, and Tracy asked if I would be open to a Q&A session...absolutely!! That sounds like a blast! I've never done anything like that before so I might need some help getting one rolling, but I would love to do it!**

has the time gone?! I almost fell over in my chair when I saw my last post dated June 20th?!! Could it be?! This has become a theme on my blog...not one I ever thought could ever happen on MY blog.

But, as it seems...my blog has been officially neglected. My photog friends are smiling because they know exactly what I've been up to for the past month. Not only was I traveling for 2 weeks in the month of July, but I was also struck with a creative surge that happens to me every once in a while. At the beginning of the month I started sketching what I thought would be a few quick and easy Holiday Card designs. What started out as a few turned into A LOT. In the past week I've launched not one, but THREE Holiday Card sets. Once I started I guess I couldn't stop. Ha!

So, now that those are created and launched I'm breathing a little easier. At least until I tackle that mess of "stuff" that's been sitting on my desk for an entire month left undone. Oh, the horror! So, rather than dive into projects begging to be done what do I do? I go to my poor, neglected blog.

Here's to all of you who are digging out from a mound of things left undone. The price we pay for vacations, eh?!

Cheers!

Oh, and if you need proof that I've actually been working...here are a few samples from my recent Holiday Card Collection.

I know I've been missing in action the past few weeks...oh, how time flies (pardon the pun). So many exciting things going on here and my poor neglected blog has suffered as a result. I've been working intently on streamlining my business...trying to get my operating procedures under control before that crazy fall rush!

Although I've had my nose to the grind lately, I have been able to break away now and then to enjoy life's adventures. One such event was "the big jump"! My husband is one of 5 boys in his family. Ever since we met I've heard endless stories of the crazy things they used to do growing up...I'll spare everyone the details in the event there are any moms of boys out there (the stories would TERRIFY you)! Ha! Anyway, the bond my husband has with his brothers is pretty amazing.

There is a tradition among them that when one of the brother's turns 30 they do something off the wall. This time was no exception. One of the brother's recently turned 30 and they all decided to jump out of an airplane. Oh, the joy! Of course I was invited to jump along with them, but I opted to be the "picture taker" because every jumper should have one of those, right?! Ha! So I packed up my stuff and kept my feet firmly planted on the ground while I watched the adventure unfold..through my lens of course! Ha!

48 hours and counting... then school is out for summer! No, I don't have any school-aged children yet. However, I promise I can feel the electricity in the air. I was out and about last night and I saw kids riding their bikes a little faster, skipping down the street, twirling on the sidewalk...it can't be coincidence. I'm certain all these children know that in 48 hours they will be FREE for summer break!!

My son is just as excited...if not more so than most of these kids. You see, our neighbors all have kids who have been in school for the past 9 months. My little guy LOVES weekends when all of his friends are here to play. In 48 very short hours those friends will be around A LOT more which means...I need to get BUSY. Ha!

I do tend to be the cul-de-sac "den mom" if there is such a thing. I love making little treats and organizing activities for the crew which requires some planning on my part. My goal is to get myself caught up enough in the next few days to be able to start the break off with some good ol' fashioned summer fun...maybe a water balloon toss, or sprinkler games, or how about a water gun fight?!! Oh, so fun!

Anyway, it's going to be crunch time for the next 48 hours...then nothing but FUN this weekend!

Well...that little break was fun while it lasted! :) Back to reality now. I must say though that the time I spent rejuvenating did very good things for my soul. Just having a moment to stop and observe...time to enjoy the little things...it was just the thing the creative part of me needed. It's a nice change of pace to be feeling this level of excitement. You know that "creative excitement" where things are just brewing in your head...I know you know what I'm talking about. This creative surge truly couldn't come at a better time as I head into this crazy/nutty time of year. Let's just hope it lasts long enough to pull me through, eh?!!

By the way, these images are from a recent session with a senior. Sometimes I feel like I should be paying my clients for allowing me to photograph them. Syd...you were a dream to work with! Thanks!

"Slow down. Relax. Breathe."...those were the Dr.'s words to me last week. Remember that little spell of laryngitis a few weeks ago?! Well, it took FOREVER to go away (7 days). Then, when my voice finally came back it brought along with it a nasty cough. The kind that makes your tummy hurt!

Anyway, I was out with some friends one night and one of them gave me an ultimatum...either I took myself to urgent care or she was going to do it for me! Ha! So, I left our get-together to go see a Dr. about the "everlasting cold". I was in the office for less than 2 minutes and was diagnosed with a bronchitis and bronchitis induced asthma. 3 prescriptions later I was out the door with strict orders to S L O W down...R E S T...B R E A T H E!

I laughed between coughs but told him I would try my best. (Wink, wink!) However, on the ride home I couldn't help but think maybe he was onto something. I remembered a very wise friend and mentor of mine once told me that there would come a point in my business when *I* could take control. I would no longer need to be working like a madwoman to make ends meet with my business. That things would just start falling into place on their own and the fast paced "build my business" phase would end. Having just come off a marathon stretch filled with opportunities I never in a million years dreamed I'd ever have, I thought perhaps this was the time.

It's a hard task for the perfectionist side of me to stop working for any amount of time. My hand is almost always in the pot. However, to hear a Dr. tell me to slow down...take time to rest...give your body time to recover. Well...I guess that's all I needed to hear.

In the past week I have spent so much time just enjoying life. Watching my boys play outside, planting my flowers and vegetables, reading a magazine or two. Life is good! And you know what...my business is still very much surviving. In fact, I think this little "breath" has done great things for my business. I'm feeling that surge...a little creative re-charge if you will.

So, if you find yourself feeling stressed to the point of bringing on an illness...SLOW DOWN, REST, BREATHE!! (Dr.'s orders!)

When I was a senior in high school, I signed up for a speech and debate class. Partly because it sounded interesting and partly because it's the only class I could find to fit with my early release schedule. (We all know early release was "the" highlight of senior year besides graduation, right?)

One of the speeches I wrote was entitled "Shoes: The evolution of footwear". The speech started as somewhat of a joke. My friends used to tease me because I owned a gazillion pairs of shoes and was always on the hunt for another pair! Anyway, I was really stumped on a speech topic and one of my friends suggested writing about shoes. At first I laughed...shoes? Who could write a speech about shoes?!!! What would I say?! With a little thought though I came up with a plan.

I wrote a speech about the evolution of footwear. How shoes were designed as a protective device for our feet but over time had also become a major force in the fashion industry. I made the case that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their feet. While delivering the speech I showed pictures from various generations. Some images showed men wearing steel toed boots, others showed women from the 1950's wearing high heels in the grocery store. Then I pulled random people from the audience to stand up so we could analyze what the shoes on their feet said about them.

15 years later it's interesting to reflect on what the shoes I'm wearing today say about me. At first glance they are just a pair of tennies, right? I mean...I'm a stay at home mom to 2 very busy boys. I'm always on the go between photo shoots, sports classes, working out, all the normal busy mom stuff. It's easy to see why I might be wearing tennies! But the story goes a bit deeper.

A few months ago we had an opportunity to watch a rare interview with, Bono, (lead singer of U2 for those of you who may not know who he is) at our church. He was being interviewed by a friend of our pastor and Bono really wanted to get his message out to as many people in the church as possible. I have always been a HUGE fan of U2 so when we got word that the interview would be broadcast at our church I was over the moon with excitement.

My husband and I had a few conversations about the work Bono was doing in Africa. We always thought it was promising to see an international celebrity really DOING something about a problem rather than just talking about it. During each of our conversations both my husband and I agreed that "someday" we really needed to DO something too. However, since I quit my job teaching to be at home with our boys now just wasn't the right time. We were excited to listen to the interview but we both knew in our hearts that now probably wasn't the time to make a major contribution to his efforts.

A few weeks later we walked into a packed church. Evidently we weren't the only one's excited to see this interview. The lights went out, the screen dropped and I promise you I could have heard a pin drop in the room. It was dead silent. Then, on comes never before seen footage of a U2 concert. I got goosebumps and immediately got a feeling that something BIG was about to happen inside of me.

I watched the entire interview practically glued to the edge of my seat. The only time I moved a muscle was to tell my husband that we needed to DO something NOW. At the end of the interview, our pastor got up and explained what our involvement as a church would be in Africa. He pointed to a small village in Africa on a map blown up on the wall. He described how 100% of the dollars donated were going to help this one particular village. Our church leaders were going to be flying out to meet with village leaders, etc...

At this time I was watching my husband pull out the "commitment card" provided by the church. They were asking everyone to estimate how much of a financial committment we could make to this effort. I watched my husband jot down a number and he quickly flashed it to me. WHAT?!!! I had to look twice!

You have to understand, my husband and I aren't rich but we aren't necessarily hurting for money either. We have a nice home and I do have the luxury of staying at home with our kids. However, with my graduate school loans, car payments, house payment, etc... it all adds up and there is only so much to go around.

I've heard people describe the "perfect trust" before, but I'd never really experienced until we walked out of church that day. As nervous as I was when I saw the card I just had a feeling that I needed to TRUST this was the right decision....that somehow we would find a way to make this work and fulfill our commitment. Perhaps I'd need to start clipping coupons or cutting back on "convenience items"...there had to be a way.

A few weeks later I launched a set of birth announcements as part of my design company. I had a knot in my stomach (ask any of my on-line friends and they will tell you I was a nervous wreck). My hope was that they would sell really well so I could set money aside to go toward our pledge. I was overwhelmed by the response! One by one people were buying templates. Then I launched another set and another set, then another. I sold, sold and sold some more. I sold more than I ever imagined I would.

I recently calculated the total and I'm thrilled to announce that my template sales alone covered our pledge to the efforts in Africa. That feeling of having the perfect trust in His plan was very much real and now I can see why. Since we made our pledge I have experienced tremendous success with my design business, I have booked more photo sessions than I ever thought possible, I have been commissioned by two nationally known clients, and I'm loving life. Some might think this is coincidence, but I can't help but think it's bigger than that.

So, the shoes I'm standing in today...they not only represent my "busy mom" personality, but they also represent my commmitment to the efforts in Africa. They are a RED product sold only at GAP stores. A portion of the proceeds of all Red products go toward the efforts in Africa. If you haven't checked out this line I would highly recommend it. There are tons of things to choose from!

Wow...got long winded there. Sorry about that! Ha! If anyone took the time to read this...thank you!

Just a note to let anyone who might possibly still be reading my poor neglected blog...that I did, in fact, survive my big shoot last week. Despite numerous attempts to force my voice back to working condition I was still very much voiceless for the shoot. Luckily, my clients had a great sense of humor about it!

As I said before, the past month has been a whirlwind. All that is happening is overwhelming, exciting, yet nerve-wracking and stressful. I am very anxious to getting back to my normal routine which of course includes regular blog updates.

If any of my blog buddies are still out there...I am here and I hope to be posting again on a more regular basis. I can't thank you all enough for the kind words and well wishes in the past few weeks. Your support and encouragement means so very much to me!!!